Wimbledon R16 Matchup: Federer vs. Hewitt

On 2008 Wimbledon tournament the big three has been reduced to the big two with the departure of Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer, five-time champion and owner of the nicest gold-trimmed cardigan in town, booked his place in the last 16 on Friday with his third simple victory, but things may become a touch tougher today when he faces Lleyton Hewitt. The feisty Aussie, winner of the title in 2002, is the only other former champion in the field.

Lifetime they have played 20 matches against each other with the Federer owing an 11-match winning streak against Hewitt. This is their first encounter this year. To be sure this will be an exciting match for many online tennis bettors to bet on. The reality is that Hewitt has not been successful in eleven attempts to figure the Federer dilemma.

2008 Wimbledon Free Pick: Federer in straight sets. Bet Now!!

Wimbledon R16 Matchup: Ancic vs. Verdasco

Fernando Verdasco had an exceptional run into Wimbledon by beating Thomas Berdych in the third round he reaches the second week. While he has definitely improved this season and become a more consistent player, unfortunately I see his campaign coming to an end. Mario Ancic is simply too good a player overall and on grass he is lethal. He is the last player to beat Federer on grass.

2008 Wimbledon Free Pick: Ancic in 5 sets. Start betting Now!!

Wimbledon R16 Matchup: Nadal vs Youzhny

Nadal’s back-to-back appearances in the Wimbledon finals have helped fuel a contagious attitude and appetite for success on grass. Nadal should win without any problem this matchup. He is simply the best tennis player of this matchup.

2008 Wimbledon Free Pick: Nadal in 3 sets. Bet Now at BetUS!!

Other 2008 Wimbledon round of 16 matchups.

Richard Gasquet vs Andy Murray

Marat Safin vs Stanislas Wawrinka

Janko Tipsarevic vs Rainer Schuettler

Marin Cilic vs Arnaud Clement

Marcos Baghdatis vs Feliciano Lopez

Check 2008 Wimbledon round of 16 odds.

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Learn the basic facts about Wimbledon and which playing styles its grass surface favors most. Also explore the lists of past champions of this most historic of all tennis tournaments, first played in 1877.

Marat Safin hadn’t won two consecutive matches all year–until he defeated Novak Djokovic, the third seed and major contender for this year’s Wimbledon in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the second round Wednesday. Safin played his best tennis of the year, perhaps of the last couple of years, while Djokovic struggled, unable to place his groundstrokes or serve accurately in the gusty wind. Safin’s strokes are among the least vulnerable to wind because they are exceptionally simple and compact, especially his biggest weapon of all, his backhand, which he hits with probably the shortest backswing on the tour and yet with incredible power.  Check the the Wimbledon 2008 Betting Odds.

A short backswing helps greatly in the wind, because it decreases the interval between the start of the swing and the moment of contact, thus giving the wind less time to blow the ball off course while the swing goes forward.

It showed that a ball velocity on grass is actually lower than on clay, but because of the low bounce it gets faster to the player and he/she has less time to prepare. Low balls and less time to prepare for the shot - aren’t this the biggest threats to a player with a Western grip? This could be one of the reasons Nadal couldn’t defeat Federer in the past couple of years. What do you think?

Click here to start betting on Wimbledon 2008 Grand Slam.

The online tennis betting trend, recovering from the shock upset of Maria Sharapova today, turn towards short-odds on favourites Serena Williams and Ana Ivanovic as the third round tennis betting action gets set to kick off on Friday, June 27, 2008. So how will the two starlets in women’s tennis fair? Here is a look at the online tennis odds currently available for the online sports betting community.

Online Tennis Betting Line: Amelie Mauresmo +250 Serena Williams -400

2008 Wimbledon Tennis Betting Preview: In terms of betting on this matchup, as sensational as this billing is, many feel Amelie Mauresmo, the 2006 Wimbledon champion, has passed her prime. Meanwhile, Serena Williams stock is still rising in the tennis betting markets. Aside from popular opinion, recommending Williams on the money line is a 9-2 career head-to-head record against the Frenchwoman.

Tennis Free Picks: Mauresmo in three sets. Start betting now!
Online Tennis Betting Line: Anabel Medina Garrigues +135 Agnes Szavay -175

2008 Wimbledon Tennis Betting Preview: Agnes Szavay favours the fast surfaces. Ranked No.15 in the World, the Hungarian teenager is loaded with talent, but has had a slow season thus far. At -175 favourite odds, she is the better play.

Tennis Free Picks: Szavay in straight sets.  Bet now!!

Online Tennis Betting Line: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova +300 Agnieszka Radwanska -500

2008 Wimbledon Tennis Betting Preview: Rising Polish tennis star Agnieszka Radwanska won the title in Eastbourne last week – a Wimbledon tune-up event. With three WTA titles for the year already and a 36-11 mark at the start of her Wimbledon run, Agnieska Radwanska is the player to watch in her section of the draw.

Tennis Free Picks: Radwanska in straight sets

Online Tennis Betting Line: Evgeniya Rodina +300 Anna Chakvetadze -500

2008 Wimbledon Tennis Betting Preview: Ana Chakvetadze has had a bit of a seesaw year. Ranked No.8 in the world she is in a bit of a slump and since winning the title in Paris earlier this year, she has failed to factor deep in tournaments. An upset of the eighth seed in Wimbledon is very likely. N

Tennis Free Picks: Chakvetadze in three sets

Check a complete list of 2008 Wimbledon Odds.

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Maria Sharapova (9/4) – She’s having a pretty sunny year after breaking Justine Henin’s 32 match winning streak and going on to win the Australian Open without dropping a set. She won the Singles title at the Qatar Total Open. Her first loss of the year was to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open. So it comes as no surprise that she’s favoured by the bookies at 9/4 (general). There are some, however, who inquire after Maria’s shoulder after a spot of bother at the DFS Classic in Birmingham. Also take into consideration the rocky ride she took us on at the French Open.

Serena Williams (5/2) – Knocked out of the Australian Open by Jankovic at the quarter-finals (her fourth consecutive loss in the quarter finals of a Grand slam singles tournament). She and her Sister were then knocked out of the doubles event in the quarter-finals. After the Australian Open she cancelled her next four tournaments. A rocky start to 2008 for Serena, so it comes as a surprise that she is seeded as no.2 to win this tournament. Ladbrokes and Coral have her at 3/1 while Betfair is on 4.3/1. I find it hard to believe that she’s a contender for the final this year.

Ana Ivanovic (5/1) – Ana has shown spectactular performance this year making both grand slam finals and winning the French Open. Now ranked No.1 in the world (partly due to Henin’s retirement) I reckon she’s good value at 5/1 general. Although it would be interesting to see her up against Dementieva (ranked 10th favourite) at Wimbledon as she’s already lost to her twice this year.

Venus Williams (9/2) – 9/2 at Bet365 and BlueSq and 6/1 at Betfair means there’s a lot more contesting between the top few players for the favourite spot than in the men’s event. It would be unwise to disregard anyone in the top four until you’ve really knuckled down to your research. Venus squeezed in a win over Maria Sharapova early on in the year at the Hong Kong Exhibition Tournament but yielded a win to Ivanovic in the Australian Open. It’s a tricky call especially as the bookies rate her 4th favourite.

Jelena Jankovic (14/1) – Its hard to see Jelena come through for Wimbledon especially as she doesn’t have any previous Singles Grand slams under her belt. Her talents lie elsewhere on the clay court or in the doubles event. Betfair rates Jankovic for an unoptimistic 16.5/1 a large margin from the top four seeded. Ladbrokes have her at 14/1.

Roger Federer (5/4) – The Fedster is back after a crushing defeat at the hands of Nadal in the French open, it doesn’t look like he enjoyed his worst loss since 99 either after he ripped his way through the Gerry Webber Open without dropping a set. Merely a warm up for the chance to turn things around between him and Rafael at Wimbledon. Despite his good form at the French Open, Federer couldn’t handle a greased up Nadal on clay but now as we move into Roger’s element the bookies mark him down as 5/4 . No doubt Federer will have a mind to turn up the heat in this tournament.

Rafael Nadal (9/4)– Rafa has fallen at the last hurdle these last two years. There’s no question that this Spanish brute is an exceptional player but he just can’t seem to face up to Roger on grass. He has the momentum considering his recent victory in the French Open and Queens Club Championships (including a win over Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic). The bookies have made a rational choice to put him at 2/1 (general). Given his recently proved dominance over Djokovic on grass it’d be very easy to guess at yet another Federer/Nadal final despite a slight inclination to place my money elsewhere.

Novak Djokovic (7/2) – Beat Federer earlier in the year at the Australian open on the new ‘Plexicushion’ surface in the semi-finals which he subsequently went on to win. Since then he has met Nadal twice. Once on clay at the French Open (had he won he would have replaced Nadal as the World No. 2) and once at the Artois championships on grass. Both times he was defeated. Novak’s skill is sufficient to give Rafa a run for his money but his lack of stamina will seriously affect his game if he comes up against any of the other players in the top 4. Betfair are offering reasonable value at 4.4/1.

Andy Roddick (43/1) – Andy is fourth favourite to win the tournament but its clear he trails by some distant from the top 3 when the bookies have him at 25/1 (Blue Sq and Ladbrokes) Centrebet have even gone as far as 40/1. However Roddick has shown considerable promise this year after a win over Nadal in the Dubai Tennis Championships in the Quarter Finals and Djokovic in the Semi-Finals. He also defeated Federer at the 2008 Miami Masters. He was forced to pull out of the French open due to a shoulder injury but made it to the semi finals of the Queens championship where Nadal defeated him. I think Roddick has a reasonable chance of success in this tournament though it’s hard to see him making past the top three players in the same tournament.

Andy Murray (33/1) – Betfair have got Britain’s favourite at 49/1…. Still, the general opinion of the bookies is that he’s 5th favourite to win, that’s enough to raise the hopes of those who so faithfully supported the futile Tim Henman campaign all those years. Has Britain’s time come again?

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